Family Loses Everything in Fire

Jackson, MO - Amber Longhibler woke up Easter afternoon to the heat and smoke of a fire. The was climbing the walls of her apartment

"I could not believe what was I was seeing," Longhibler said. "I tried to put it out with buckets of water."

But it did not help. So as the fire grew, she went looking for her three children. All of which were upstairs sleeping, or so she thought.

"When I went into the kitchen, I noticed my two year old hiding in there, covering her eyes, thinking she did something wrong," Longhibler said.

Longhibler says her daughter probably tipped over a burning candle. A neighbor ran inside, up the stairs, and helped take Longhibler's other two children to safety.

Jackson firefighters do not consider the fire suspicious.

According to the apartment manager, the home did not have smoke detectors, because it was remodeled a month earlier. A fire extinguisher box outside the apartment was empty, because the manager says it was used to put out a car fire.